


A soft, quiet place

by AliciaSinCiudad



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Bodhi's shoulder is comfortable, Cassian is tired, I'll wait; I don't mind, I'm pretty sure Diego Luna is following her, M/M, Post-Mission, She is the most amazing artist; if you don't know her work go check her out, Shima-Spoon, Tumblr "prompt", kind of not pre-, kind of pre-slash, not even joking, those eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-23 23:39:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13798779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliciaSinCiudad/pseuds/AliciaSinCiudad
Summary: Bodhi can't sleep, and he sees Cassian coming back from a long mission. Cassian is tired. Bodhi listens.





	A soft, quiet place

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the lovely artwork of [Shima-Spoon](http://shima-spoon.tumblr.com/).
> 
>  

Cassian looked tired.

Bodhi knew better than to say so, though. He’d known Cassian long enough to understand how the man worked. For decades, Cassian’s only friend had been a droid, so it was only logical that he would measure his stamina against his mechanical companion, and blame his weakness for continually coming up short. Of course, if directly confronted about his unreasonable standards, Cassian would vehemently deny such absurdity. But Bodhi understood. He was pretty sure that Cassian sometimes wished he _were_ a machine. It would make so many of his past decisions so much easier to live with.

“Hey, Cass, good to see you,” Bodhi said with a smile. He patted a spot next to him on the bench. He’d been sitting in one of the common rooms, messing around with his mechanical arm – it was always freezing up in Hoth’s frigid climate – and wondering when Cassian would be back. Cassian never told him where he was going, or for how long, so Bodhi had grown used to waiting, and wondering. If it bothered him, there wasn’t much to be done. He didn’t have clearance to know more, so his only options were this, or nothing.

Cassian smiled, or made some simulation of smiling. He wasn’t upset, though, Bodhi could tell. Just exhausted. He sat down heavily next to Bodhi.

“Long mission?” Bodhi asked softly. There was no one else in the common room at this late hour, it was only some well-timed insomnia that had brought Bodhi there to begin with, but Bodhi felt strange speaking loudly in the empty room. Especially with Cassian looking so tired.

Cassian nodded. “Yeah. Pretty long. I’ve had worse, but…” He smiled shyly. “The missions always seem longer when I’m missing you.” He shook his head, as though brushing off his own comment. “It went well, though. Objective completed, minimal complications. I suppose I should write up a report for General Draven.”

“You won’t be meeting with him until the morning, though, will you? I imagine he’s asleep now.”

Cassian shrugged. “I usually write up a report as soon as I get back. That way, I have time to edit it before the debrief.” He inhaled deeply through his nose, his eyes drifting shut – Cassian’s vain attempt to disguise an obvious yawn. He swallowed, then opened his eyes again. “What are you doing up?”

Bodhi shrugged.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Cassian gave Bodhi a sympathetic smile.

Bodhi shrugged again. “It’s ok. It’s nice to be the only one awake sometimes. It’s quiet.” He looked away. “I know it’s probably wrong to miss anything about my old life, but… sometimes I do miss the long stretches of quiet. They felt lonely, then, but I guess I got used to them.”

Cassian nodded. “I know how you mean. Before K-2, I spent a lot of time alone. And even with him, there’s still a lot of silence. He doesn’t require much, you know?”

Bodhi bit his lip. Did he require too much from Cassian? He probably shouldn’t read too much into anything Cassian said right now, he was obviously losing his filter. Or maybe Bodhi should pay extra attention, maybe this was the realest Cassian was going to get with him.

Cassian inhaled again, swallowed another yawn. “Most people want you to talk all the time, or want to talk to you,” he continued. “You, you’re different. You just let me be… me. Quiet.” Cassian smiled ironically. “I guess I’m not being very quiet right now. Sorry. I’ll leave you alone.” He made a slight movement, as though to get up. Bodhi wondered if the slightness of his movement came from reluctance to leave Bodhi, or just reluctance to move at all.

“No, no, you’re not bothering me, really!” Bodhi shook his head and lay a hand on Cassian’s arm, and Cassian relaxed. “I was sort of hoping I’d see you, honestly. I thought, if I was already awake, I’d be more likely to see you if I was in a common area. If you happened to come back.” He smiled shyly himself. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” Cassian replied. His voice was barely more than a whisper. He wrapped an arm around Bodhi. “It’s… always nice… to see you.” He leaned heavily against Bodhi, laying his head on Bodhi’s shoulder. Bodhi could feel Cassian’s breath, becoming ever slower and deeper. Before long, Cassian had fallen asleep.

Bodhi bit his lip. He was too awake to fall asleep himself, but he was loath to move, lest he wake Cassian. He glanced over his shoulder – Cassian was scowling in his sleep, but it was only his habitual scowl, not the deep one reserved for particularly difficult missions. He had no obvious new injuries, had not lost any noticeable weight. His breath was warm on Bodhi’s shoulder, his hair softly tickling Bodhi’s neck.

Bodhi wished there was a way to kiss Cassian without waking him, but sleep was a delicate thing with him. He picked up his tool, and began working the joints of his mechanical arm again. He was awake anyway, might as well get something done. He’d move Cassian later. For now, things were fine the way they were.


End file.
